Watford Fc Vs Huddersfield Town - 16/01/2021 - 1500

We must show no quarter.

We will know in the evening if promotion is what is or what should never be.

 

Well for the away game, I predicted that it would be the game that everything clicked and that the Ivic out thread would become very quiet. Little did I think that Foster would try a nutmeg with his weaker foot within the first ten minutes, Capoue would knee slice a ball into his own net and Deeney would go running to Headmaster Pozzo to get Ivic sacked. In a sense I was right that the Ivic Out thread did go quiet but only as he was very much out already.

Well the good news (given how wrong I was last time) is that I think this will be a stinker, an uninspiring draw or defeat with Xisco sporting another snazzy new coat bought with his exciting new Championship pay packet he still can't believe he's getting. He'll forego any semblance of tactics for manic clapping and shouting "vamos!".

Deeney will play and do nothing. Hughes, Sarr and Zinckernagel will all get their heads up as they want to play it forward but pause as they contemplate how the hell they've ended up looking at one bloke who can't move and another who can't control a football. Pedro will look on pleadingly from the bench. Oh, and direct free kick supremo Navarro will come on at some point just to kick the ball like a small child and it won't even reach the wall this time.

 

I fear that there will be 10 years gone before we get promoted again.

We’ll be so bad that even Bron Yr Aur United or Kashmir Sporting Club will beat us .

I often pray to the pantheon of gods from all religions , but I fear there aren’t any houses of the holy that can provide me with solace.

Watford FC are a heartbreaker , of that there is no doubt, but it’s nobody’s fault but mine.

But despite the ups and downs , always my song remains the same , because Watford FC , since I’ve been loving you, I will always say thank you for what is and what should never be .

 

As i mentioned previously it was Gray's run down the left that created some space for Sema to cross it for the goal.

Deeney was fairly quiet.

As a collective, the team won.

If they play this weekend a goal or 2 from them would be nice.

 

I said I was gonna put you on my ignore list, but I can't quit you.

Let's just hope another defeat doesn't see a new manager smuggled in through the out door.

Would be a disappointing coda to end The Kids's short tenure.

How many more times have we got to go through this before the Pozzos learn that the issues lie elsewhere?

 

A shot on target from one of them would be excellent!

 

Fail to win this, and we go again.

 

Two things are clear.
1/ If we don't go up this year or maybe next, our next move from the champ will be down rather than up as we will revert to being a small fish in the champ based on our average gates/income.
2/ We will never in our lifetimes see another run of 5 successive seasons in the top flight or a cup final.

 

I also hope we will win

 

As long as I get to go to the Vic on a Saturday and debate the big decisions in the pub afterwards, I don't care what league we're in or the quality of football on display.

I regularly go to the cinema and the theatre wearing an eyemask and earplugs. It's the being there that's important.

 

That will happen imo if we perform at home like we have done. As i said, hitting the back of the net would be nice.

 

I hope we win but score lots of goals, with some of them being good goals.

 

I admire your confidence but it won't happen unless both Gray and Deeney are dropped. One is allergic to the penalty area and the other one who actually gets in there has some quite shocking stats. Andre has played in 10 games for us this season so far and has already missed 7 'big chances' and is cruising along nicely with a 7% shot conversion rate. SEVEN. That's worse than Troost-Ekong, Cathcart, Wilmot and Kabasele.

I think Watford fans are quite patient with players compared to other clubs but his time is up. Three and a half seasons of watching this guy try to control a football is enough. He hasn't done his job for the club which is to score goals, he hasn't even looked like a professional footballer at times. Then we have the rubbish off the pitch to throw in the mix. I'm sorry but he could score 15 between now and the end of the season and I'd still want him gone. An utter embarrassment to the club.

 

Presumably that 7% includes the goal he was credited with but almost certainly didn’t actually score.

 

I'll cover some of your points made...

Just in case you have misunderstood me, I said I think there will be a shot or shots on target from one or both of them if we play well, I didn't say I was confident that they will score, just hopeful that one or both of them can at the weekend. The word 'big' is open to individual interpretation. I agree he has missed chances this season. Andre has started 7 out of the 23 league games. and just the 2 with the new manager who is meant to be more offensive than the last one.

He has scored goals for the clubs a starter in the Premier League, I have mentioned this in previous posts so don't agree with the "he hasn't done his job for the club which is to score goals" statement. "He hasn't even looked like a professional footballer at times", I don't understand that comment. If he scored 15 and you want him out because, as you put it ,he is an "utter embarassment to the club" then you are most likely part of the haters club so your opinion of him is unlikely to be balanced, constructive or fair regardless. I would like both Deeney and Gray out of the club at the end of the season, but for the following reasons. Firstly, I think their best days may be behind them so wouldn't mind some fresh upgrades up top. Secondly, they, along with a number in the squad, aren't Premier League quality so if we were to go up we may struggle again in the top flight. And thirdly, I don't like the influence Deeney has as I would much rather prefer the manager to be the primary decision maker as to who plays and who doesn't.

 

Yes, that's right, keep blindly dismissing anyone with genuine statistics/arguments as a 'hater' - how was the Capitol, by the way?

 

Let's be honest Andre Gray is lucky to have a job - it's probably not easy to sack someone who cost 18 million and on 70k a week.

Do you think a younger player would have got away with breaking the law not once but twice and not being particularly sorry about it?

Particularly when the club themselves made such a big thing about player welfare and looking after front line workers in the NHS next door.

Of course if you think about it the first party he had was 2 days before an important game.....I mean that is pretty unprofessional in itself

And the other the same night as he got an injury - is that the general attitude once injured? Oh well I can do what I like now.

Certainly won't be listening to anything he says again on an issue if he cannot be bothered to stick to the guidelines everyone else has to.

Both are only starting because we have no-one else really apart from throwing 2 natural wide men up front and I think Phil Z is more of a winger isn't he?

 

Blindly dismissing? I don't think so.

 

You lose some, you draw some. - Tommy Docherty.

 

I don't see what his off pitch naughtiness has to do with this game preview thread in all honesty and its not like it hasn't been mentioned before. He was a donut for doing it just like the rest of the UK population who decide to break the rules.

In reply to your last line yes the 2 of them will likely start though I wouldn't completely rule out Deeney and Pedro given a go - it depends how Xisco feels after the training session. Zinckernagel can play central midfield or on the wing I believe, so doubt he will start up top.

 

Sorry just was joining in the Gray discussion but you are right.

Probably better suited in the Andre Gray thread.

Anyway I hadn't thought of Pedro as a main striker but think he is more of a wide attacker like Sarr and Zinckernagel.

 

I agree he is more suited as a wide player - just that as he was playing up top during spells this season due to injuries to others I put it up as a 'not completely ruling out' scenario.

 

I assume Deeney's knee problem is miraculously healed?

 

Agreed and he has at least scored some goals !

 

A big chance is literally defined as a chance where it is reasonable to expect the player to score.

My comment about him not looking like a professional player refers to his inability to control a football, pass to a teammate, head a football or kick with his weaker foot. Things that small children seem capable of yet Andre seems to find increasingly difficult.

I'm not sure where you're expecting these shots on target to come from either? Gray took two shots inside the 6 yard box vs Norwich and still couldn't hit the target! He also had 3 shots in a couple of seconds again in the six yard box vs Swansea, he scuffed one, actually got one on target and smashed the third wide. It's truly pathetic and quite sickening the amount this man is being paid.

You're quite right, I don't think I've ever hated a Watford player before because I've always tried to be supportive, but I hate this guy. He seems like a pretty terrible person and he's absolute crap on the pitch. I'm sure he'll be devastated that he's lost my support but sorry Andre, I've had enough mate.

Also, I realise I'm taking my frustration at Gray out on you when you're just trying to remain positive so I apologise, but I just can't see any upside to him sorry!

 

These are **** we mugged ourselves off in the first game if we lose to these twice then we really are a joke. Huddersfield has the worst away record in the league and the 2nd worst defence, just get at them and play positively 3-0 Watford.

 

Huddersfield Town fan here! I hope you don't mind me adding comments from our side of things!

Quote: 'if we lose to these twice then we really are a joke.' (Watford fan above)

If I had a tenner for every person who's said that about us over the years I'd be living in Monte Carlo!

Anyway, you've probably noticed our home form is far better than our away form. In reality we're a club still trying to turn things round after our little venture into the Premier League. We had the Cowley Brothers last season and at the start of the present one and while they did just enough to avoid the drop into League One, the football was pretty dire.

Carlos Corberán, coach/manager, arrived from our noisy neighbours earlier this season and he and his staff set out to instill an exciting brand of attacking football, that definitely requires high levels of fitness and stamina. Clearly we're nowhere near the standards they demand, we have a relatively small squad and with injuries to key players and matches coming think and fast for months on end we've suffered quite a lot. As a result we've let in silly preventable goals and top scorer Josh Koroma is out for another two months. Generally, it's been very good stuff to watch certainly compared to what we've endured for two previous seasons.

So Saturdays game!!! It was clear to me in our home match that Watford have some excellent players who on the day didn't really get their game together. We played pretty well and it was a match where I could see the Corberán message starting to sink in. In truth we're still very patchy in terms of performance, one match we look pretty good the next we don't meet the same standards. As for the result, I've no idea really but one thing for sure we'll be trying very hard to succeed.

Regards and Good Luck after 5pm on Saturday obvs.

 

It's easy to tar Deeney and Gray with the same brush: both on huge wages at this level, both struggling to score, both from the West Midlands.

But Deeney is a club legend and I still think he has something to offer us if he can get some confidence back into his finishing. Gray on the other hand, I just can't see him turning it around. It's not that he doesn't work hard in matches, he just never looks like scoring. And it's odd because in his career he HAS been a good finisher. But some players lose confidence in a way that is permanent and it looks like one of those cases. And we unfortunately have to pick up the tab.

 

I just don’t think Deeney is very fit maybe due to the knee issue ( I mean think Chalobah still struggles with his )and at 32 getting on a bit tbh and Gray just not very good or in my view professional enough.

You could say both have unwanted distractions off the pitch ?

As usual we bring in these replacements who either seem to be hopeless or injured .

Perica might be great but he hasn’t been fit for about 10 weeks of the season .

 

If the clowns are back up top in a pointless 4-4-2 I can't see myself even bothering.
But it's a must win game to get a little confidence in the team.

 

What about giving young Dalby a shot?

 

Of what? Success has already nabbed the Baileys.

 

Let's be honest could he be any worse than the clowns? I would go with Pedro myself atleast he has found the net this season.

 

You answered your own question. On one hand you say you're not sure where these shots on target are going to come from. Then you say he did get a shot on target. I will remain optimistic that if we continue with our decent home form that they can get a shot or shots on target between them.

And hopefully one or both of them can score, assuming it's them that play.